Richmond Virginia Newborn Photographer | Baby Hudson

This family has been a part of my career as a photographer for many years!  Austin was actually an amazing babysitter for us while she was going through nursing school, and now she's all grown up and has gotten married and just had a baby of her own!  I was honored to be able to capture their engagement session, wedding, maternity, birth, and newborn session which included Hudson!  It's amazing how much a baby can change in a week, but he was the perfect model for his studio session.  You will see more of him soon because we are also doing a lifestyle session at his home in a few weeks!

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | W Family

I love welcoming families to my portrait studio for newborn sessions because it is a one-stop shop. We have all of the props, blankets, outfits you could imagine and I cater the session to your color wishes. And because my studio is in my home (and the studio for a newborn session is a nice 80 degrees!) if older siblings (or even dad!) need to step out, we have a large couch right outside and a bucket of toys waiting.  

This was the second sweet baby girl I photographed for this family, and I am in love with her!  She has the longest little feet and the best head of hair.  Beautiful like big sis, I cannot wait to watch her grow up!

Here are a few favorites from our session together:

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | Baby S

This family has chosen to do the baby plan with me (which consists of a maternity, newborn, 6 months + 1 year session- where the whole family can be included each time!) and I am loving getting to see them every few months!  This sweet baby came in for her newborn portraits and was a total rockstar!  And then opened her eyes for family pictures at the end with a sweet little smile. (Don't tell me newborns don't REALLY smile, I know that! But I'm just over here living in my photographer dream world where babies smile at me!) 

Here are a few of my favorites with her family:

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | Baby Eloise

I love welcoming newborns into the studio.  Moms of course will come worried but I have a few tricks up my sleeve after working with newborns for almost 10 years, and it's been a while since I had one that did not sleep.  During newborn sessions we try to get a few different set ups and include parents or siblings into the pictures.  If you are expecting, let's chat so I can tell you all about our different options! 

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | Studio

This sweet family recently came to me for a newborn session and brought their pup and grandma who was visiting to help post baby!  So it truly included the whole family and I loved it! :)  In my studio I have everything needed for a session, but sometimes clients want to incorporate a few things that are special to them and that is great too!  So we included baby girl's sweet rose blanket and one piece outfit.  (Outfits can be really tough at this age so if you want to search for something special, go to etsy and type in newborn photography outfit for the best choices.. otherwise, baby may be swimming in it!) 

Here are a few of my favorites from the session..

Richmond VA Maternity Photographer | Intimate Portraits

Oh sweet baby bellies.  I LOVE them SO MUCH. The magic of creating a life and taking some time to get some gorgeous pictures of yourself while focusing on your beauty and that sweet babe-to-be is a must for an expecting mama!  Your maternity session does not have to be this intimate, you can certainly rock it just the same while covering up a little more, but as a secret? These sessions are my favorite!  The studio offers key pieces in completing the maternity look whether you'd like to show the belly or cover it up a bit more. Dad and children can also be included in these sessions.  

In this post you will meet Ashley, who is one of the strongest mothers I've ever met. She was so sweet to work with and didn't hesitate to jump into any idea I had, and together we created the most beautiful maternity session for her! 

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | Baby Benjamin

Ohhh sweet baby Benji!  (Totally acceptable for me to give sweet baby's a nickname, right?)  And side story, we named our first two boys "Eli" and "Luke" because we weren't a fan of nicknames, but more often than not we call them "Li" and "Lu."  

I recently read where photographers weren't a fan of parents IN the room with their baby's during the newborn session, some photographers went as far as to say parents WEREN'T ALLOWED in the room.  YIKES you guys!  You couldn't peel me off of my boys so there is no crazy rule like that in my studio.  I love that you get to watch this session, and you are literally two feet away from us the whole time.  Now, I will admit you don't have the best view because I always pose to a particular side and unfortunately the couch is pretty much right beside baby's butt, so THAT's your view, but I also encourage you to walk around and get a non-butt view too ;) 

Benjamin was such a sweet baby and rocked his first modeling session!  His mama booked a mini session for him, which tends to have more simple styling and not quite as many set ups as a full session, but definitely allows you to still have great images of your baby!

Here are a few of my favorites from our time together:  

Richmond VA Newborn Photographer | Session Prep

I am so honored you have chosen me to capture your newest love!  I take the upmost care in making sure that "my" babies are always in safe positions, warm, and of course looking their best.  There are a few things that I will ask you to do before arriving for the session, this helps the session to run more smoothly, and for you not to stress that we will get great images for you to display.

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Before the baby arrives:
-"Schedule" your session.  Send your estimated due date.  I will pencil you in so I can be on baby watch and know when I will need to fit you in to the schedule after baby arrives!
-Send me nursery pictures!  I want to tailor the session so that it matches your style and the baby's decor.  I also like to work with some neutrals to ensure that you will be able to hang these pictures anywhere in your home/office.
-Tell me about any must have shots.  I am happy to accommodate a few requests if possible.  Do you have a special blanket or prop that you're just itching to include in the session?  I want to see how to incorporate beforehand it so I can be prepared when you bring it.  This is also why I ask for nursery shots, I may see something that would look great in pictures.  (Ie this adorable elephant was in a nursery and I asked mom and dad to bring it along to the session!  As it turns out, grandpa gifted it to Maxwell and made it so much more special to be in the pictures!)

Once the baby arrives we will pick a time/day for your session!  But don't worry, I've likely been expecting you and will have some options ready!

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The day of the session:
-Wake | Feed | Sleep. We need the baby to have a little time awake before you leave for the session, this will help them to be sleepy (or sleeping!) upon arrival.  I usually suggest parents to give the baby a bath and then feed them FULL. Think, Thanksgiving dinner unbutton your pants full. The bath will wake them up, the feeding will help put them to sleep, and the car ride will continue that.  If you are more than 20-30 minutes away you may have to feed again when you arrive, but I usually can transfer baby from carseat to posing without too much disturbance. 
-AM Scheduling. I usually schedule sessions to start in the 9-10AM timeframe.  The lighting is great in the studio if we choose to use natural light, and I feel for those babies that are confused on day/time that this is the time of the morning (since they've been up all night!) that they are settling to a deep sleep.  We can be a little flexible on time though as long as we schedule it in advance. 
-Don't stress! If you need a few minutes to freshen up when you arrive, that is totally fine.  I almost always start with baby posing and have a full bathroom at your disposal. These pictures are ones you will treasure forever so should you need to put the finishing touches on your makeup or just do a quick glance over yourself, you will have the time to do so.  Occasionally throughout the session I may ask for a hand (usually the parent that didn't just give birth unless they are tied up with other children!) or two in posing some of the more complicated poses. (Because, here's a secret, they're photoshopped!)  This cute little baby's hands on his chin never actually put the weight all on himself, we merge two photos together. 

Safety first, you guys! So important with newborn sessions.  Even note in the second picture when dads hands were on top of the head, his right hand was only 2 inches away just incase baby started to wiggle.

At the session:
Relax! This is the easiest part!  Aside from maybe assisting a few times and snuggling your baby a bit, you get to relax!  I have a coffee maker and mini fridge right in the room along with lots of different snacks to choose from! As long as I don't tell my husband when it's restocked you will have everything you need.  I've caught him sneaking things a few times ;)  You get the comfy bed area to sit on, and I've even had a few dads get really relaxed fall asleep.  Don't worry, we wake them up when it's time for them to help ;) 
Temperature.  I keep the room around 80 degrees.  I always recommend wearing layers/tank top and usually that's all that's needed to get more comfortable.  If you are hot natured and need to step out of the room for a minute that is totally fine.

I have lots of props and blankets to style your session beautifully, so if you do not have anything to contribute to the actual pictures, that it okay!  All you have to do is bring your baby!  There are a few items that will help the baby at the session: 

• Paci (Sometimes baby may need to suck for a minute or two while swapping scenes, they may not need to eat but just need a little paci comfort to get them back fully asleep
• Milk.  If you're not breastfeeding be sure to bring a bottle.  If you are breastfeeding and have already begun pumping a little bit, you can bring that!  Babies can drink faster from a bottle and that will help them settle back to sleep quicker.  If you've made the decision to 100% breastfeed for the time being, I totally support that!
• Neutral top for you + your husband.  I INSIST you being in the pictures! And I do not charge extra for parent pictures.  Years from now, you will want these images, and I want them for you! :)  I love white for parents against that sweet baby skin, but anything neutral and not busy will work nicely!